How can I get rid of snails in my garden without using something dangerous that could hurt my kids or my dog?

Snails are little destructive creatures that run on slime instead of on legs or wings. They may be slow but they can quickly do damage to vegetation and destroy tender new growth even down to the nubs which can kill the new plants if they are voracious enough.. Many commercial snail pellets or poisons are extremely toxic if they were to be ingested by unknowing small children and animals. The pretty little pellets produced by some companies might look like some kind of eatable treat to a child or pet since they do resemble cereals and little candies. Even the most diligent parent or caretaker cannot possibly watch every movement a child makes and being quick little beings, it doesn’t take long to pick something dangerous like snail bait up and stick it in their mouths. Dogs can be just as bad as babies and toddlers, trying anything that might possibly be edible. To avoid putting toxic snail baits down you can try three methods. One is to hand pick the snails off. It is a pain but it is the safest way to do it. Make sure you check down in the leaves and under them if you try this. Make a game of it and get your kids to help. A second one is to sprinkle a line of salt along the edge of a planting area. Have you ever seen what salt does to snails? It sizzles them. Don’t do this too close to the plants though because watering will make the salt go into the soil and it can damage the plants. You could even do it along a stone or brick border instead of directly on the soil. A third thing to try is beer. Snails seem to be drawn to it. Use a bowl or old pie tin and set it down in the soil a bit then fill it with beer and let the party begin. Of course the dog may try to drink the beer but it won’t poison it. Bye Bye snails! Mama Nono

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